The situation developed after Lemieuxsaid she wished she “knew less” about a new magazineled by Black conservatives Ben Carson and Armstrong Williams. Her comment prompted Williams, who is the deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee, to reply.

The “White dude” comment sparked more controversy because Williams is actually a Black man.

“I forgot that tweeting something about a Conservative is like leaving a cookie out in a house full of roaches and turning off the lights,” Lemieux tweeted in conclusion.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus responded with a three-paragraph, stating that Raffi deserves an apology from Ms. Lemieux and EBONY “not just for making assumptions about his race but more importantly for dismissing black Republicans and the validity of their opinions in public discourse.”

Attacking someone for his or her race, heritage or political views is the very thing EBONY has worked to discourage, and actions like those of Ms. Lemieux are far below the basic standards of journalism. She did not even attempt to show journalistic objectivity. And I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s unacceptable to refer to those who disagree with you as “roaches.”

Raffi deserves an apology from Ms. Lemieux and from EBONY—not just for making assumptions about his race but more importantly for dismissing black Republicans and the validity of their opinions in public discourse.

In their Twitter exchange, Ms. Lemieux said she had “no interest” in a conversation about encouraging diversity of thought. I’m hopeful, however, that she does not speak for the entire magazine and that we can use this unfortunate episode as a catalyst for greater engagement and understanding between the Republican Party and the black community.